Andromeda's Gambit
by crystalline talisman
Summary: When a brave young woman discovers she is a chosen heir as a Guardian of the mythical Celestial Gate, she finds herself sucked into a whirlwind of history, intrigue, and quite a bit of danger surrounding Fiore's ancient queen Andromeda and a dark Shade known only as "Chaos." But with the help of a Dragon Rider and a few unexpected friends, nothing's impossible! AU. [Natsu/Lucy]
1. Daughter of Cassiopeia

**Andromeda's Gambit**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail, or anything associated with it.

 **Full Summary:** Long ago, the fair queen of Fiore, Andromeda, was the destined Guardian of the Celestial Gate. Many centuries later, the story of the Guardians is nothing more than a myth, told to children at bedtime. Lucy Heartfilia is no exception; when she unexpectedly stumbles upon a memory core that destines her as the next Guardian, she has no idea what she's getting herself into. But with the help of a Dragon Rider and his courageous friends, will they be enough to stand between the stability of the realm and chaos?

* * *

Prologue: Daughter of Cassiopeia

* * *

When I was a child, my mother read me stories about the first queen of Fiore, a beautiful and powerful woman known as Andromeda, from a book called _Tales of the First Empire_. Many of the stories were historical in nature, but I always figured the majority were just myths and legends. Of course, there was one myth and legend that happened to be my favorite.

When she was born, it was said that Andromeda's mother had been so faithful to the Celestial King that he sent his twelve most trusted ambassadors to bless her with gifts. The ambassadors were the Twelve Keepers of the Zodiac and each blessed Andromeda with great qualities and destined her to be the fairest and greatest queen in history. The Celestial King also designated her to be the protector of the Zodiac Gate that separated the individual realms. On her sixteenth birthday, she inherited the throne from her parents, and became a beloved ruler by her people, and a fearsome enemy by neighboring kingdoms who dared threaten her treasured people.

Unfortunately, as blessed as she was by the Keepers of the Zodiac and Celestial King, she was still a mortal and began to age. When she had celebrated her sixtieth birthday, she could feel her body beginning to grow weary with age, and called her lieutenant and second eldest daughter into her chambers.

"Alexandra," she smiled warmly at her treasured daughter.

"Mother," Alexandra smiled back, bowing.

She took her daughter's hands and led her to a chair, sitting her down and pushing an errant lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "You grow more beautiful with each day."

"Mother," Alexandra groaned.

"I know, I know, forgive me," she chuckled. "Do you know why I named you 'Alexandra?'"

"It rolls off the tongue," her daughter joked. Andromeda inhaled sharply, squeezing her daughter's hands. Where to begin?

"I was told by a trusted ally you would be a great protector," she explained. "And now it is time for you to fulfill that destiny."

"What do you mean?"

"You are to inherit my title, dear," Andromeda spoke.

"Before Calista?" Alexandra's eyes grew wide. "But Calista is the eldest. The inheritance of the throne passes to her next, she's the crown princess!"

Andromeda shook her head. "No, no… Calista will be queen of Fiore, but you – you will be the Guardian of the Celestial Gate."

"Mother," her daughter gasped. "But, I'm not… you were the one chosen by the Celestial King. And shouldn't Calista inherit that title as protector, too?"

"Calista is wise and fair, but you are strong, courageous, and brave. I have made her my heir to the throne, and you my heir to the guardianship for those specific reasons. I have entrusted what is most sacred to the correct people; she understands this, and so must you," Andromeda began.

"And were I an immortal I would not have to pick an heir, but as it is, I cannot live forever. This body grows weary with each day, and it grows harder and harder each day to hold a sword steady," she said, looking at her slightly trembling hands. "And one day you will know what that is like, and you will have to pick your own heir."

"Don't be so morbid," Alexandra scowled. "You're not anywhere near old yet!"

Andromeda laughed, "Perhaps not, but, I will be soon. And you will know what that's like. It's not morbid to speak of death, Alexandra. It is a part of life. Don't forget, we all have our time to go."

Alexandra nodded, "You're right. My apologies."

"There are many things I must teach you and tell you and explain to you, and we will get to that, but you must always trust in yourself," she said. "Trust in yourself and your allies and you will never go wrong."

Almost thirty-five years later, Andromeda finally died, and it was a sad day in the kingdom of Fiore. Calista, the eldest, became queen, and was a fair ruler in her own right, but Alexandra inherited the title of Guardian of the Celestial Gate. Of course, as time grew on, Alexandra became fully aware she was not able to defend the gate from darkness on her own. In this, she needed faithful allies, and she picked three others she trusted with her life and mission.

Eventually, Alexandra picked her own heir as she began to age, much like her mother did, and so on and so forth, until there was a great presence of Guardians in the entirety of Fiore, sworn to their cause. Guardians were forbidden from speaking of their mission or identity. Today, some claim they are the descendants of Guardians, sworn protectors of this Celestial Gate with their predecessors watching them from the stars and heavens. In truth, most of us consider it a mere legend and nothing to give much attention to.

Little did we know.

* * *

 _Posted: 10/23/2015_

 **A/N:** Hi there; yes,this is a very short prologue. But the good news is it comes with chapter 1 also. I expect to be updating this weekly, especially because I have the whole story actually plotted out (surprise), but sometimes school gets the better of me (I'm trying to get into medical school/I'm studying for the MCAT whomp). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. I'll try to answer any questions along the way.


	2. Big Bang

**Andromeda's Gambit**

* * *

Chapter 1: Big Bang

* * *

It all started when I was scavenging for some artifacts near my home in the borderlands of the Clover Plains. The Clover Plains was not the most affluent state in Fiore. Many people had multiple jobs, ranging all along the moral and ethical spectrum, and corruption ran rampant. The most comfortable members of our society were aristocratic or otherwise noble, priests and priestesses, or mercenaries. Then, there was me.

When I was eighteen, I ran away from home and abdicated my title as the daughter of a Count, and ditched my last name "Heartfilia." Of course, when I ran away from home, I also ran away from my dad's stockpiles of money, which meant my way of getting dinner was salvaging potential antiquities and selling them to traders or private collectors, hence my presence at this one particular market.

"What is it this?" I said to myself, lifting up a what looked like a badly damaged holosphere.

I frowned as I tried to examine the artifact. It was indeed, as I had suspected, a holosphere but the condition was not what I had estimated moments prior. It was in fact in a more terrible condition than that. Its exterior was cracked all over, with dirt and sand filling any gaps in the surface. Typically, holospheres ranged from a blue to purple hue, but this one was colorless. How strange.

"Oh, that old thing," the vendor grumbled. "It's some garbage sphere we found in a downed sky cruiser in the Wasteland."

But it felt like there was more to it than that. For some reason, it felt like I could hear the sphere, or _someone_ , calling out to me and telling me to take it. It was unnerving, to be honest, but for some reason, I couldn't stand the idea of leaving it behind.

"How much do you want for it?"

"For you, only 10,000 jewel."

"What?" I almost shrieked, then pouted. "I thought it was garbage!"

"One man's garbage is another woman's treasure," he smiled.

I groaned. "Come on; this thing has to have been sitting here for months and months on end."

"Maybe," he shrugged. "Maybe not. If you don't want it or can't afford it, put it back."

"Please? Even for me? What's the best price?"

He looked at me, and clicked his tongue then sighed. "Alright, alright."

I jumped a little bit in excitement, albeit it, prematurely.

"I can do it for 9,500 jewel."

What!? Stingy, old fart.

I grumbled a bit angrily as I dug inside my wallet and pulled out the money. If you asked me then why I bought the holosphere, I couldn't have told you. Destiny? Divine intervention? I really don't know.

But as fate would have it, it wasn't until I had forked over the majority of what money I had remaining and walked out of the shop that I realized I had a major problem - just what the heck am I supposed to do with a glorified paperweight!? Way to go, me.

I mentally scolded myself for probably a solid three minutes before I elected to figure out a solution. Refusing to be defeated by this one little hiccup, I decided I would take it to the only data recovery specialist I knew. Maybe he could help me.

His name was Hibiki Lates, and he was probably the best tech guy in the entire country – not that I would tell him that, however. When I walked into his shop on the far side of Hargeon, a smile lit up his face.

"Lucy," he beamed. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Nice to see you, too," I replied. Hibiki loved women about as much as he loved tech stuff. So being a member of the opposite sex, any time I had interactions with him I tried to keep his attention on the right thing – which was not getting into my skirts.

"I really do wish you'd come visit more," he pouted a bit.

"I've been… busy," I fibbed. "Listen, can you take a look at this?"

"Anything for you," he smiled and held out his hand as I placed the very damaged orb in his hand.

His eyes grew pretty wide and he took it over to his work station, holding it under a brightly lit magnification screen as he rolled it around in his hands. He kept making small noises, hmm-ing, and would occasionally move closer to the magnifier before backing up.

"ARCHIVE," he called out finally, pressing a few buttons on the the console attached to his desk. "Run a scan on this holosphere; I'm looking for age, and any kind of particulates or residues you can find in the structure. Also, this is probably a stretch, but try to see if you can restore or recover any of the data."

I jumped in a bit of shock when I heard another voice answer, "Right away, sir."

"Uh… who is that?"

"Oh," he smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Just my little helper."

"Is he in the back or something?"

Hibiki chuckled. "No, no. ARCHIVE is an AI."

"AI, as in… Artificial Intelligence?"

He smirked. "Yup."

"That's amazing! How did you… how is he… can he hear me?"

"Yes, miss," ARCHIVE answered and my eyes grew wide.

"And he's so polite," I sighed happily. "That's so cool."

"Just don't go around telling everyone. People get weird about AI's," he said. "And, I don't want some other guy stealing my idea or schematics!"

"R-r-right." I had a feeling there was more to the story than that, but I decided the less I knew, the better.

"Sir?" ARCHIVE interrupted the brief moment of silence. "I've completed my scan, but there are some deficiencies."

"Deficiencies?" Hibiki frowned. "Like what?"

"I was unable to recover any of the data," the AI said.

"Was it corrupted?"

"Not as far as I can tell; it appears the data cannot be accessed without a DNA signature."

"A DNA signature? That's pretty bizarre for some random junk sphere," Hibiki grumbled. "What kind of DNA markers are they looking for?"

"I cannot determine that; there appears to be a block preventing any kind of remote access, or breaching of the data. A firewall, if you please," ARCHIVE explained.

Hibiki turned to look at me apologetically, "Sorry, Lucy."

"S'okay," I said, a bit disappointed. "Not for a lack of trying."

"That's not all, sir," ARCHIVE said. "I was able to date the device. It appears to be approximately four hundred years old, and the residue and particulate matter trapped in the crevices of the device are a combination of sand, human tissue, gunpowder, and other explosive residue compounds."

"Four _hundred_?" I said, my jaw dropping.

Hibiki snatched the holosphere up from the platform it was resting on and thrust it in my hands.

"Lucy, where in Fiore did you find this?"

"Uh, just some local vendor. He had it sitting in a pile of other useless junk, and I just got it because it seemed cool or something. Why?"

"And where was that?"

"I think he said it was in a sky cruiser, now that I think about it."

If his eyes grew any wider, they might have popped out of his head as he said, "You need to take this and go. I want no part of this."

"Wait, what?"

He shook his head. "That thing is super, duper bad news. Did you hear ARCHIVE? _Human_ _tissue_! Explosives! Wherever you found it was a war zone and factoring in the age, it sounds like it was during the Dragon Civil War. Who knows what kind of stuff is on this? If I were you, I'd get my money back or toss it to the bottom of the sea. There can't be anything good about that thing."

"But, I want to know what's on it. Don't you?"

"No! People who find things like that end up dead, or worse; hunted down by the government and thrown in a dark hole where the key gets tossed out," he groaned. "Look, Lucy, you seem like a nice girl. Don't get caught up in this."

Whatever he knew and wasn't sharing obviously had him petrified. Had I the opportunity, I probably would have actually considered what Hibiki had to say and tried to get my money back.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to consider it because a young man came bursting in the door with what looked like an army behind him.

"You're under arrest."

* * *

If I had to tally up the lowest moments in my life, I think being arrested has to be in the top three. But at the time, it was definitely number one.

"What are the charges?" I asked hotly, as I was being led in handcuffs to a cell.

"Hmph," my 'escort' grumbled, shoving me into a cell. "Try and behave."

"I have rights!" I yelled, kicking at the bars of the cell after he closed them. "I demand to know what the charges are and to face my accuser!"

"Oh, shut up!" the guard groaned before walking out and slamming the heavy door behind him. I could have sworn I heard him mumble, "Fuckin' kids and their rights."

"Hey!" I shouted.

"Will you quit your caterwaulin'?" one of the prisoners snapped. "I'm tryin' to sleep here!"

"Put a sock in it, slimeball," some other prisoner barked, his voice sounding like it came from the cell beside mine. "Like you weren't fussin' when they brought you in here."

"You put a sock in it, cotton candy head!"

"What'd you call me?" my 'defender' demanded.

"You heard me, you little brat."

"I'd like to hear ya say that without those bars protectin' your sorry ass!"

"Shut up, all of you!"

The room grew quiet and after a moment, I realized I was the one who shouted for everyone to be quiet. What had I done? Why was I here? What was going on? I mean, it had to just be a 'wrong place, wrong time,' thing, right? Or was it that stupid sphere? Why couldn't I have just… why couldn't I have just left well enough alone?

"Hey, hey," one of the guys said. "Don't cry, okay?"

"Why shouldn't I?" I whined, letting my head sink down towards my chest. "I'm in freaking jail."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, so am I," he said, and I thought I detected a hint of pride.

"We're birds of a feather," I muttered.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Lucy."

A moment of silence passed and then he said, "That's a weird name."

"No, it's not! What's your name?" I looked up quickly and tried to find his figure, but it was extremely dark. I could only make out a silhouette of the person in the cell next to me.

"Natsu,"

"Okay, yeah, sorry, buddy. Natsu's a weird name!"

"No, I don't think so," he said, as if he had thought about it for a moment then dismissed the idea. "That's ok, though, it's not your fault your parents named ya weird stuff."

I exhaled in frustration. This twerp was getting on my last nerve, but no need to begin my first hour in jail with picking fights and starting riots.

"Thanks, Natsu," I said dryly.

"No problem, Luigi."

"Lucy!"

"Same difference," he said earnestly, then he lowered his voice. "Can I tell you a secret?"

I couldn't tell if this was going to be weird or perverted, but I decided I just had to know.

"Yeah."

"I dunno, are you sure I can trust you?" Natsu cocked his head to the side, as if he were evaluating me.

"What!? Yes!"

"I mean, we are in jail," he shrugged.

"Do I look like I belong in jail?" I seethed.

He shrugged again. "I dunno, you could be a real weirdo for all I know."

I sighed in exasperation.

"Hmm, alright. But lean in close, I don't want anyone to hear," he said, as if he finally made up his mind to trust me. And I was the weird one?

I made my way over to the side of the cell he was in and put my ears next to the bars where his shadowed face was.

"Closer," he insisted and I shifted closer to the side. "Okay, but you can't tell anyone, you promise?"

"Yeah, yeah," I replied.

"I'm breaking outta here. You comin'?" he whispered.

* * *

 _Posted:_

 **A/N:** Alright, so this should give some more information about the story. Hope it seems enjoyable to everyone so far. I'm working to get ahead as I can! :) The truth is this was an original story I wanted to write, but I doubt I'll ever actually legitimately _write_ this story as an OS, so I'm taking elements from it and combining it with other elements. :)


	3. Black Hole

**Andromeda's Gambit**

* * *

Chapter 2: Black Hole

* * *

"Wha-" I started to shout at his revelation when his hand clapped over my mouth.

"You promised not to tell!" he reminded.

"Get off of me," I said, wrestling away from his hand. "I know what you said."

"So you comin' or what, Weirdo?"

"Well, what's your plan? Then I'll tell you." I replied.

"Why?"

I made a face, "What do you mean 'why?' I want to make sure if it's a good plan or not."

"Why wouldn't it be a good plan?"

"I don't know you, how am I supposed to trust it's a good plan?"

"I trusted you by telling you I was getting out of here," he answered.

Arguing with this guy was getting me nowhere. I sighed in frustration. I could always call my dad… eh, never mind. I'll take prison slop for ten years over the lecture I'd get for this one. Or maybe I should stay here, believe in the justice system. Then again, something inside was telling me this was no ordinary arrest, definitely not some kind of mistake or oversight, and that if I didn't get out of here now, who knows how long it'd be before I tasted free air again.

"You can stay if you want," he shrugged, then moved to sit against the bars. "I'm not forcing you to go. But if you'd rather stay here than go, then you're a super weirdo."

I'm not entirely certain if it was the fact he called me 'weirdo' again, or that he actually had a point, but I made up my mind and agreed to join him on his little prison break scheme.

"Great!" he cheered. "But you have to do everything I say."

"Why?"

"'Cuz it's my plan."

"Well, tell me your plan so I can know what's going on."

"Nu-uh," he shook his head. "You just have to wait and see, Luigi."

"It's LUCY!" I screeched.

The guards must have heard me fussing because a guard started beating on the door to the holding room I was currently trapped in.

"Keep it down in there, Blondie! I'm tired of my ears feeling like they're going to bleed!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed in annoyance. I partially hoped that Natsu's little breakout fiasco involved hitting a few guards because they had been extremely rude to me for no reason that I could deduce other than thinking I was a criminal.

When I turned to look back at Natsu's shadowed figure beside my cell, it had retreated and was leaning against the cinderblock wall right below a window. His eyes were closed and fingers were laced with a small beam of sunlight hitting a slender portion of his face. For all the time he called me weird, I felt a tinge of further aggravation. He had spent all this time nagging me about me being weird and he had spiky, _pink_ hair! I still couldn't make out the majority of his features, but it was hard to notice anything else with bubblegum colored hair like _that_.

Then I started to wonder about his escape plan again. I had noticed that the doors were sealed with old fashioned keys, which was unusual to see. Most places were secured with biometrics or keycards of some sort; that had to mean this place was really old. Did he maybe have a skeleton key or something? Did he make it out of like a toothbrush or a chicken bone or something?

"Natsu!" I whispered, trying to get his attention without disturbing the other inmates.

"Why are you whisper yelling at me?" he frowned, refusing to open his eyes. "I'm trying to sleep."

"I want to talk about… that thing," I explained.

"No, no, we've talked too much," he shook his head. "Just go to sleep, Luigi."

"Lu-cy. L-U-C-Y. Lucy, my name is Lucy!" I seethed.

"That's what I said," he waved a hand at me. "Now, relax, Luna."

Oh, for the love of…

"Why can't you tell me?" I groaned.

"Because," he finally opened his eyes and looked at me simply. "You're in jail. I can't go around trusting criminals."

"What!?" I screeched. "I'm not a criminal!"

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know that."

"Then why are you including me in your plan?"

"I like your hair color," he smiled, and I noticed his sharp teeth for the first time. On their own, they were pretty creepy, but his smile seemed warm and friendly enough; it was an unusual combination that was both slightly unnerving and touching.

"Hey, wait a minute," I paused, realizing I hadn't even considered why Natsu was here. For all I knew, he was bottom of the barrel when it came to scumbags. "How do I know you're not a criminal?"

"'Cuz I'm not."

"Then why are you here?"

Natsu gave a devilish smirk as he closed his eyes, "I said I'm not a criminal. I never said I wasn't guilty."

"Wait, what? What does that mean?" I 'whisper yelled' again. But it apparently fell on deaf ears because all I could hear was gentle snoring from his direction.

I whimpered a bit, letting my head fall down towards my chest again. Why me?

* * *

I was startled awake when a hand clamped over my mouth and another hand shook me awake.

"Wakey, wakey," Natsu whispered. "Time to go."

I tried to mumble something but his mouth stifled any noise I tried to make. My neck was stiff from leaning against the cell bars and it felt like every joint in my body had locked up from the uncomfortable position. What I would have given for a real bed at that moment in time.

"Eh?"

I pushed his hand off my mouth and replied, "Where are we going?"

He knocked on my head with his knuckles fairly gently, "Are you all there? We're busting out, weirdo. Unless you'd rather stay here...?"

"I'm not an idiot, I know that we're escaping," I groaned. "I just- ugh, forget it. What should I do?"

"Wait here," he grinned then backed up and started rubbing his hands together very quickly. "I'm gonna get out of here first."

"With what, brute force?" I scoffed, trying to figure out what his actual plan.

"Just wait there, Luigi. And keep quiet, I don't want anyone waking up."

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes, folding my arms. _This_ I had to see.

He grabbed the bars of the cell and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and out, as if he was in a meditative state.

"No way," I muttered in disbelief. This guy was _actually_ unstable if he thought he could break out that way.

He must have heard the incredulity in my voice because I thought I saw a smirk creep up on his lips.

"Patience," he whispered, and his arms began shaking.

I rose to my feet, trying to get a better look. Either he was exhausting all his energy for no reason other than what could be attributed to testosterone-fueled narcissism, or he actually believed this would work. When I edged closer, I realized I hadn't seen what he was actually doing.

 _Somehow_ , _someway_ , he was heating the bars and pulling them apart! The metal glowed a hot, red-orange color and started to pull apart with every moment that passed by. He was superheating the metal in order to bend it and make a gap wide enough for him to pass through! I wanted to ask how, but I was more concerned with us getting the hell out of there, so I decided I'd play twenty questions later.

Periodically he'd move his hands to a new vertical location and work on the metal there, and while it was a tedious and time consuming process, it wasn't long before there was a gap large enough for him to pass through. It was a tight squeeze, but when he had finally slipped through and stretched his arms out on the other side, I wanted to burst into tears and laugh at the same time.

"That was amazing, Natsu!" I said in a hushed voice. "Hurry up and do me!"

"Oh, you can't fit through there."

"What?" I almost said at normal volume.

"Yeah, you're too fat," he stated.

"Hey, wait a minute –" I protested.

"See ya later, Lucy!" he chirped, then bounced out of the cell room.

He _LEFT_ me!? What a little whelp! When I got out of there, I was going to strangle him with my bare hands, I was so angry. And then my shoulders slumped a little bit. Not when. _If_ I got out of jail. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. How could I have trusted that little brat? I mean, he was in jail after all!

"Stupid, stupid," I hit myself in the forehead lightly as I scolded my trustful nature. I knew better, and yet I still did it.

"Who's stupid?" Natsu asked as I heard metal clanging.

"Natsu!" I exclaimed in a hushed voice, running towards the cell door. "You came back."

"Duh," he made a face. "You really are weird, you know that? I invited you to come along. Didja think I just left ya or something?

"Well, you said I was too fat to pass through the bars, so yeah."

"Yeah, there's no way you could squeeze through there," he said matter-of-factly as he opened the cell door. "So I had to go get the key."

I couldn't tell if I wanted to kill him or hug him, but I opted on waiting til we were free and clear of Hargeon before I carried out any assassination attempts. Even if he deserved it.

"Alright, let's get out of here!" I cheered as quietly as I could.

"Wait," he said.

"What, do you want to stick around here and get caught?" I balked.

"No, I just have to get something first."

* * *

"What is it you want to get again?" I asked, following him as we crept through the hallways of the jail. We had made it out of the holding cells we were in and I was happy that there were no guards in the outer chamber, though it did beg the question of where they were. When I asked Natsu, he grinned and said something about cracking skulls. _Oh, boy._

"Something I was arrested with," he whispered. "I'll explain later."

"Well, what was it?"

He shrugged, then said simply, "Something personal."

"Well how am I supposed to know what we're looking for?"

"Do you want to sit here and talk about what we're looking for, or would you rather help me get my stuff so we can have an actual jail break?"

For the first time in what felt like forever, Natsu had actually said something logical.

"I mean, I don't care if we get caught," he said indifferently. "I'm all fired up to beat some guys up."

And he was right back to being absurd. This guy had a five second rebound from one nutty statement to the next.

"There have to be at least thirty guards here. Probably more. We can't take them all," I scowled. "I'll help you get your _stuff_ back, and then we can go. _Quietly_."

I thought I heard him murmur, "No fun," but I decided to ignore it.

I also consoled myself with the reminder that I could probably also recover my lost belongings, which included that bizarre sphere I got drilled about after I was booked. What was it, where was it from, how did I find it, was I able to access any information... you would have thought I pulled off a heist involving the crown jewels the way they were interrogating me about it. I suppose it was worth pointing out there was a series of inherent flaws in my logic. For starters, I had no idea where this orb was. Secondly, there was the matter of it still being broken so exactly how was I going to fix it? Hibiki ran like a schoolgirl for the hills, so who could possibly fix it now?

 _Oh_ , shit. Hibiki. Where was he? Had he been arrested, too? I wanted to scold myself for not paying attention to where he went or what happened to him. I had been so wrapped up in being arrested for reasons I _still_ didn't know that I didn't want to even pay attention to him. Then I felt myself get angry at the absurdity of the fact I was even in jail in the first place! Was it that stupid AI that he made up? If so, then it was doubly not fair because that wasn't even anything I knew about!

"I shouldn't even have been arrested," I seethed to myself.

"Whatever you say, ya weirdo," Natsu replied. "So where do they hold personal belongings?"

"I, uh, I don't know. This is your plan, buddy."

"Oh, okay. Well I guess we can just start opening doors and shit," he shrugged, going to the first one and starting to tug on the handle.

"Don't be ridiculous!" I hissed, popping his hand lightly and jerking it off the door handle. "I'm not going back to that stupid cell."

"Don't whisper yell at me," he fussed, rubbing the offended hand gently. "Well how else are we supposed to find anything if we don't start looking?"

"Look, this is a government building, correct?" I asked, dragging him towards the shadows a bit as I thought I heard a voice.

He stroked his chin for a few moments, and it dawned on me he was actually thinking about it. It was practically a rhetorical question! After what felt like _eternity_ , Natsu moved his hand then nodded, "Yeah, I guess."

I resisted the urge to give what could probably be documented as Fiore's greatest eye roll and said, "So, there has to be some kind of fire escape plan, right?"

"Oh, I see where you're going with this!" he said enthusiastically. "Lucy, you're a genius."

A sense of pride came over me and I crossed my arms, smirking to myself. I thought so, too.

"I'm so glad we can start avoiding this sneaking around stuff," he held out his hand and a burst of flames appeared in it

Wait. What? No. No, no. No, no, no. We weren't on the same page. We weren't in the same fifty-mile radius. Hell, we weren't in the same solar system, and I was beginning to wonder if we were even in the same universe.

"Wait, Natsu, I don't think we should-"

"Let's blow this popsicle stand!" he cheered and launched a ball of fire across the breezeway right, smack dab into one of the tower outposts. With a thunderous crack, the room exploded with a giant puff of flame and smoke, and I heard a bunch of shouting.

Just great.

* * *

 _Posted: 10/25/2015_

 **A/N:** This arc of the story has actually been incredibly fun to write. :) I hope you're having as much fun reading as I am writing it! I went ahead and posted chapter 2 just in case. I think I might make Sundays my regular update day!


	4. Supernova

**Andromeda's Gambit**

* * *

Chapter 3: Supernova

* * *

Before I could even process the fact that my co-escapee had just leveled an entire watchtower, Natsu grabbed my hand and pulled me into a dark shadowed area, pressing his body close to mine and I tried not to get offended at the invasion of personal space. I was going to ask why, but then I heard urgent footsteps pass the area where Natsu had launched his assault on the tower.

"What. The. Hell. Were. You. Thinking," I breathed out in choppy fragments, glaring at the dark shadow hovering over me with as much intensity as possible.

"If it's a government building, then there's always something worth blowing up, and when it blows up, then we can start opening doors without you being all scared we're gonna get caught because they're too busy trying to put out the fire or escape," he said simply.

I flicked him on the forehead. "That's not what I was saying!"

"Ow," he groaned, rubbing the injured area.

"I was trying to say they would have to have fire escape maps located everywhere and we could probably find the storage room where my stuff was there," I explained.

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

How was it possible such an infuriating man existed?

"Besides, it involved fire anyway, so it's practically the same thing."

"No, there was no fire in my plan," I groaned. "Wait, why are you on top of me?"

"In case bad guys come over this way to get to the outpost, we can be hiding from them since you're all about this sneaky-sneak stuff."

"Just… back up a bit," I sighed in annoyance and pushed him off me. "Let's just stop arguing and get out of here before anything else happens."

"Alright, alright, we're going," he said in a normal voice, and started walking back towards the main pathway.

The facility was not particularly complicated, but the issue was knowing what lied behind the doors. It _was_ a jail so it was probably primarily cells, but I didn't want to face it if it was one door leading to a nest of guards. Though I suppose Natsu's 'quick' and impulsive thinking had dispersed the majority of them to the tower which was still burning, it was likely there were a few stragglers left behind trying to make sure none of the prisoners tried anything funny.

I briefly wondered how intense that fireball had to have been for it to have been still burning, and then realization dawned on me. Wait a minute - he had _fire_ in his _hand_!

"Wait, Natsu. How did you make that fireball happen?"

"I can't tell someone in jail!"

"You're in jail!" I almost screeched, remembering to lower my voice at the last moment.

"Well, when we're both not in jail, then I'll tell ya but not a moment before," he said.

I almost began a frenzied rebuttal at how ridiculous he was being when he jerked his thumb towards the wall.

"Is this that map thing?"

"Oh, yeah," I shook my head and ran over to examine it quickly. It looked older than dirt, and as I scanned the complex in an attempt to get my bearings. There was no indication on the map anywhere of where we were, and like hell if I knew where we had started. Why hadn't I thought of this idea sooner? Then I would have tried to figure out where we were when we left the holding area; then again, Natsu hadn't exactly let me in on his intent to recover whatever the heck it was, so how was I supposed to know I should start looking for maps and location markers. Wait – was that a…. it was! A faded red mark indicating a current position. Yes! Now to find where my stuff was. But alas, there was definitely no flashing sign with, "Prisoner's Stuff Is Here." Rats.

I sighed in frustration then looked over to see my 'partner in crime,' and made sure he wasn't staging Phase 2 of Operation Burn the Whole Place Down Even Though We're Still Inside.

Natsu was leaning against the wall, and if I had to guess he was probably admiring his handiwork. There was a loud commotion coming from the opposite side of the complex. While I didn't necessarily agree with his methods, at least he was right in saying we didn't have to sneak around as much anymore.

His head rolled over to look at me and he asked, "Find it yet?"

"No," I admitted, then I snapped my attention back to the map. Think, Lucy, think. Some of these were bad criminals with dangerous weapons and stuff, so it had to be somewhere secure, meaning it would be on an inside room/wall with respect to the outside perimeter. Plus, it should probably be nowhere near the cells because they wouldn't want to make it too easy for some psycho to get his stuff back.

I traced my finger along the faded page, squinting my eyes for any kind of hint or clue as to where it would… jackpot!

"There." I jabbed my finger into the wall. "Let's go!"

It turned out the storage facility was on the ground floor, next to the main guard security point. The good news was that Natsu's pyrotechnics, if you will, had distracted most of the guards. The bad news was it hadn't distracted _all_ of the guards.

I came to a screeching halt when I noticed there were two armed guards blocking the entrance and ducked into a shadowed corner, dragging Natsu with me. Crap. What next? I rolled my head around the corner to peek and see if there was anyway around them. Part of me already knew it wouldn't, or it else it would defeat the purpose of "secure storage," but I was hoping anyway.

"What gives?" he asked a little impatiently.

"There's guards there," I whispered, moving my head back so he could take a look. "Doesn't look like there's a way around them either."

"Heh," he chuckled. I couldn't hear it, but I just _knew_ there was a grin that had to take up his entire face. "Wait here."

"No, wait! Natsu, don't do something stupid. Just wait here a minute and let me think," I whined. Maybe we should have just left, and I should have cut my ties with that stupid sphere and told Natsu to go kick rocks. It wasn't worth _my_ life trying to get _his_ stuff back, was it? But as I quickly learned, when Natsu was involved in things, my brain had a tendency to shut off.

When I went to re-address the problem at hand, I realized there was a new person approaching the two-man security checkpoint. A very familiar looking person. Wait a minute…

"Natsu," I whispered in aggravation. What the heck was he doing? I told him to wait!

He waved a hand back at me as if I was annoying him or breaking his concentration while he hugged the shadows and wall. I saw him pick up a small pebble on the ground, not moving his head an inch as he skipped it along the floor opposite the direction we were.

"I'll go check it out," one of the guards huffed, disappearing from my line of sight rather quickly, then called out. "Probably a stupid bird or something, but I'll make sure."

I couldn't see his face but I just _knew_ there was a smirk. Arrogant, cocky jerk.

The next few movements were so fast it was practically a blur. He jumped out of the shadows and sprinted towards the remaining guard by the secured storage area, slide tackling him to the ground and then elbowing him in the back of the head before he could make a big ruckus. The other guard must have been out of earshot because he didn't return.

"Hey!" Natsu called quietly, waving me over with the unconscious guard at his feet. "C'mon, Weirdo."

"Don't whisper yell at me," I whisper yelled back (the irony wasn't lost on me). I crept through the shadows, muttering to myself about how it was I seemed to always get mixed up with strange men - though none were stranger than Natsu.

Natsu had already started dragging the guard towards the secure storage area by his arms like a sack of old potatoes, and I came around and started searching the sides and pockets of the guard.

"You pervert," he spoke in shock.

"What are you talking about?" I looked up at Natsu in confusion.

"Trying to cop a feel on an unconscious guy," he shook his head. "I'm disappointed in you, Lucy."

My eye had to have been twitching and I'm not entirely sure how I didn't scream, "I'm looking for the key, not trying to molest him." There was no doubt about it - this guy was _definitely_ a few cards short of a deck.

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" he shrugged.

"Because the door is locked?" I pointed, making a face. "How else would we get in there except with keys?"

"I was planning on unlocking it with his head," Natsu said plainly.

"I… am not even surprised," I exhaled, finally locating the key. This whole breakout was quickly becoming more stressful than the freaking arrest itself! "Just cool your jets, okay? Haven't you ever heard of the expression, 'Discretion is the better part of valor?'"

"No," he answered. "It sounds like something weirdos or old people would say."

"Well, _excuse_ me," I snapped defensively, thrusting the key in the lock and turning it with a bit of struggle. I pushed the heavy door open as quickly as I could and Natsu dragged his fallen foe into the room with us, then dropped him like a sack of potatoes on the ground.

"So what are we looking for?"

"I'll let you know when I find it; in the meantime, I think you should look for your stuff, too," Natsu explained, pulling boxes out and rummaging through them. Apparently he wasn't particularly concerned with whatever kind of disaster he left in his wake, because there was practically a trail of 'breadcrumbs' following him to his current location made up of strewn articles of clothing, weapons, books, journals, wallets, and other personal items.

"It would go faster if we were both looking for each other's things," I said, starting to look through boxes and cabinets on a different section of the storage room. "For example, my stuff is a brown leather satchel with the initials L.H. on it, and it has some journals and books in it, and also a holosphere."

"Okay, I'll let you know if I find it," he said. And that was it.

"Don't you want me to help you look?"

"Nah, I got it," Natsu replied. Ugh. _Men_.

"So why do you have a holosphere?" he asked.

I suddenly felt defensive. "I, uh, I found it."

"Strange thing to have," he commented. "Where'd you find it?"

"In Hargeon; why do you care?"

"Just making conversation," he said. "Why are you- oh, I think I found your bag."

"Really?" I almost squealed, barreling around the corner of the aisle to find him turning through the pages of my journal. "Kya! What are you doing!?"

"You have some dirty thoughts, Lucy. I knew you were a pervert," he chuckled, turning a page.

"Give that back!" I snatched it out of his hand and popped him on the head with it. "You don't just go reading through someone's stuff!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," he held his hands up defensively. It was strange; I had barely known him for a few hours and yet it felt like I had known him my entire life. It was both comforting and unnerving. Was I too trusting of this strange fellow with pink hair? Truth be told, I hadn't even been able to take a good look at his face yet either.

I snatched my belongings back from Natsu and started checking through the contents of my bag while he resumed his quest for whatever it was he wanted to find. The sphere was still there, thankfully. I apparently had become invested in its affairs, probably due to a combination of spending both 9,500 jewel _and_ the government being so keen on what information was on it. I figured it just had some recording of a kid's birthday from a long time ago, but now I was wondering if there was something more secretive on there. I still hadn't solved the mystery of how I was going to get the information off, but I definitely wasn't going to solve it inside a jail, so best to get out now, and then chart my next course of action later.

"Let's hurry up and find your stuff so we can get out of here," I said quickly, throwing the satchel over my shoulder.

"Hey! We've got prisoners missing! Throw up a Code Red!" one of the guards shouted across the courtyard. "Check the perimeter and see if anyone else is missing and then do a sweep!"

One of these days, I'll learn to keep my big mouth shut.

"Time to go!" I shouted.

"I haven't found it yet," Natsu said. "Just keep 'em busy, okay?"

"With what!? It's not like we ended up in the armory or anything!"

His disembodied voice sounded like it was attached to a pair of shrugging shoulders, "I have faith!"

Great. Just freaking _great_. Lord of the Flame was busy looking for some mystery possession and I was left to fend off the jailhouse guard. I began to wonder who I had pissed off in a past life to end up here.

My train of thought was interrupted when I realized I was face to face with a guard.

"What are you-" he started to spit out and without hesitating, I charged at him and knocked him right into the wall.

He must have not been expecting the reaction about as just as much as _I_ wasn't expecting my reaction because he thudded into the wall silently. My preemptive strike was short lived, however, because the next thing I knew, he had recovered and grabbed me by my hair.

"Ow, ow," I groaned, using my hand to search around for anything. I guess he had shoved me next to a desk or table of some sort, because as my fingers suddenly wrapped around a lamp and I picked it up and swung it as hard as I could at his lead. The guard let go of me and I thudded to the ground as he started clutching his head, groaning in pain.

"Any day now, Natsu," I huffed impatiently, trying to pick myself up before he recovered. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough. The guard came charging at me again and in a last ditch effort to get the KO, I kicked at him with as much force as I could muster right in the family jewels.

He gasped, his eyes bulging as he toppled over, clutching himself tightly and gasping for air. At least that'd keep him quiet for a bit.

"NATSU!"

"Got it!" he cried triumphantly, rounding the corner with something clutched in his hand. Was that a... _scarf_!?

"You were looking for a _fashion accessory_!?" I screeched.

"It's not a fashion accessory, it's an article of clothing," he countered, winding it around his neck.

"Whatever, we have bigger problems!" I said, pointing at the door where there was a pileup of guards in the courtyard. "Mr. Shove n' Stuff here is down for the count I think, but we can't take all of those guys."

"Now begins Phase 2 of Operation Freedom."

"Which is?"

"You might want to barricade the door," he said and an orange glow appeared in his hand, illuminating his toothy grin. In the other hand, was a huge fire extinguisher.

* * *

 _Posted: 10/27/2015_

 **A/N:** Updates come early! I'm a little bit ahead in writing the story, so I figured I'd spread the wealth and try not to drag out this fic as long as possible. It's kind of a cliffhanger, but I think it's made up by the fact it's a slightly longer chapter AND next chapter is even longer. So, what do you think? Leave a review and let me know. Things are just getting "fired" up in AG. ;) Thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted the fic so far. Feel free to ask any questions; I don't mind clarifying as long as it's not spoilery and I love reading theories you guys have.


	5. Prominence

**Andromeda's Gambit**

* * *

Chapter 4: Prominence

* * *

To this day, I'm still surprised I don't require some kind of hearing aid device.

I barely had time to barricade the door and hide from the blast before launched what I surmised to be an intense stream of fire right at the huge fire extinguisher he positioned against the wall.

The sound from the fire extinguisher in being combusted by Natsu's pyrotechnics was not only ear shattering but also created a sensation as if it was rattling the entire foundation of the compound. My ears were ringing so badly that I kept shaking my head in hopes that it would go away, but it wouldn't stop. I felt like I was disconnected from my body, like I was just some spirit floating around the body I was still tethered to for some inexplicable reason. In all seriousness, it felt like I had the hangover from hell itself with tiny demons jumping up and down on my every sense.

The only good news was that everyone else seemed to be just as disoriented. Natsu didn't even seem phased by the destruction and chaos surrounding us. I had a hunch that Natsu regularly resulted to explosive methods when it came to getting out of a corner he was backed into. I just hoped it wasn't a scenario I'd have to experience ever again.

I clutched my head for a moment before I tried to climb out from under the desk using my elbows. It felt like my brain had forgotten how to use my legs properly, so I probably looked more like a zombie with missing legs dragging herself along. Was I injured? Did I even still have legs?

My face was hot from the intermittent fires and I winced every time a live wire sparked, afraid that somehow a rogue spark would come towards us, but there was still that eerie ringing in my ears.

After a few moments I felt something reach around my waist and hoist me up. I turned to see Natsu had wrapped my arm around his neck and he started guiding me out through the new doorway he had created in the wall. I turned to look over my shoulder, but it was hard to see anything through the thick veil of smoke beginning to cloud the room we had been in. That couldn't have just been from him blowing up a fire extinguisher; especially against a reinforced wall. What the hell happened?

"What did you do?" I asked, the ringing in my head still going on. I don't know why I bothered asking; even if he could hear me, which would defy pretty much all laws of nature, _I_ definitely couldn't hear him.

We hobbled along to the top of a hill near the detention center. At some point during the journey, it seemed my legs finally remembered how to move so I stopped leaning so hard on the new ally I had acquired, but still left my arm wrapped around his shoulder for some support. The walk was likely just a few minutes, but it felt like I had just finished running a marathon after hours and hours. I tugged on his arm when it felt like I couldn't take anymore so we could rest and I could catch my breath.

"Take… a… break…" I wheezed, coughing and bending over at the waist. The air had been so smokey and likely full of particulates from the concrete and other building infrastructure that I was gasping for air desperately. Even though the air here was fresh and crisp in comparison to the tainted air from the storage area we had just fled, it felt like I was choking on the mouthfuls I tried to take in.

He reached over and pulled me back to a standing position, then moved my hands behind my head and held his hands there for a moment.

"…like….is…prob...ly…smoke inhala….ion," he said, with me catching only every few words. Natsu mimicked my posture and I could see him inhaling and exhaling deeply.

After a few moments of what felt like breathing exercises for pregnant women, the ringing in my head began to subside but I still felt like someone had shoved a ten bricks into a pillowcase and beat me on the head with it. I could tell the adrenaline rush still hadn't worn off because my body was still shaking and twitching, even at a standstill. I was antsy and wanted to pace, but tried to force myself to remain in one place. I needed to conserve my energy for what came next.

"You're insane," I groaned at him. I turned to look at where we had come from and I'm almost certain my jaw could have hit the ground.

The _entire_ compound was smoking. There were fires all over the place, and it looked like someone had just dropped a giant bomb on it. Parts of it were crumbling and falling to the ground, and the moonlight became overshadowed by the enormous clouds of smoke and glow of the fire. If I hadn't practically had my eardrums blown out, I bet the entire setting would have included the shouts and screams of prisoner and guard alike.

"What did you DO!?" I shrieked, shoving him violently but keeping my attention on the burning building.

"I must have put it near a gas line," he said. Did I detect a somber and mournful tone to his voice?

"You _are_ insane! We could have died, Natsu!"

"It was an accident," he mumbled.

"An accident? You…. What were you thinking?"

"I didn't realize that there was a gas line running through the wall I was trying to blow out," his voice cracked a bit. "It's not like I had blueprints to the place."

"How could anyone _not_ notice that, Natsu!? The entire force of the Clover Plains military is going to descend on this place."

If I wasn't so out of breath and shocked, I probably would have considered trying to beat the insanity out of him. It would have likely been a fruitless quest, but extremely cathartic nonetheless.

I suddenly felt his hand wrap around my wrist firmly.

"We gotta go, Lucy," he said with the most seriousness I had ever heard - my father included.

I pressed my free hand to my forehead, still breathing in and out deeply as I looked at the damage. What if Hibiki was in there? I felt my eyes burning from the combination of tears, smoke, and ash. _Go_? How? Where? Was I supposed to pretend this never happened? What was he talking about?

"Lucy," he tugged my arm a bit more urgently. "We have to go."

I wiped my eyes quickly, and my throat felt like I swallowed a huge lump when I snapped, "There were probably innocent people in there, Natsu! I mean, yeah, there were scumbags and hardened criminals, but not everyone could have been bad. There were probably decent guards in there, just trying to make a living, and innocent people wrongly imprisoned!"

"Don't you think I know that?" he muttered, and I could hear the pain in his voice. "I screwed up! It wasn't supposed to go down like this."

I turned to look at him, and it was the first time I had really been able to see Natsu. He was young, probably close to my age, and had dark eyes that looked like they were older than the rest of his body with long lashes. The pink hair was unkempt and spiky, but was starting to collect flecks of ash like snow in winter. The lips that I imagined were typically smirking or grinning were tightly pressed in a line, and I could see the hurt written all over his face. He opened his mouth to speak a few times but closed them, as if he was trying to decide what to say next, while the shadows created by the flames behind us danced along his face.

"We can't stay here," he finally said firmly. "We have to go, or we're dead."

"Dead?"

"Yeah, Lucy, _dead_. What, you think they're just going to slap us on the wrist and say, 'That was bad, don't do it again?' We practically leveled the whole thing. They're going to push for capital punishment."

"We!? I didn't do anything," I whimpered.

"Yeah, but to them, you're my accomplice. You might as well have blown the place yourself."

He was right. I grabbed a fistful of my hair in frustration and could feel myself breathing faster and shallower; adrenaline was still coursing through my body and I couldn't tell if I was going to pass out, or run from here to the other end of the globe.

"Lucy," he said, seeming to regain his composure as he placed his hands on either side of my shoulders. "I'm sorry. I really didn't intend for this to happen; those lives are on my hands. But that doesn't change anything. We have to go."

"Yeah," I mumbled, looking at orange glow against the night sky before I turned to walk away.

It would be a long time before I understood how painful this entire experience really was for Natsu.

* * *

We walked for what felt like forever. I wasn't sure where I was going or why I was going anywhere with my co-conspirator as this whole fiasco had proven without a doubt that things seemed to escalate rapidly when he was around. And yet, somewhere along the way, I decided I had better odds of surviving with him than without him.

"So," I finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had been surrounding us since we began our trek. "How is it you're like a human torch?"

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know?" Back to making jokes, I noted.

"You said you'd tell me once we escaped from jail!"

He shrugged, "I haven't decided if you're a criminal yet."

"You're the one who said he was guilty and should be locked up!"

"No, I said I was guilty. I didn't say I deserved to be in there," he corrected me. I thought I heard him add, "Though I suppose I do now," but I wasn't certain.

"And what are you guilty of?" I asked. My legs were burning with fatigue. I wondered when, or _if_ , we would even stop. I tried to focus on conversation in order to get my mind off the discomfort but it was starting to gnaw at my mind and I was eager to rest.

"I was looking for something," he explained. "So I did what I needed to do in order to accomplish my mission."

"What was your mission?"

"I haven't completed it yet, so I can't disclose it. It's confidential," he said.

"How can you keep track of so many secrets?" I asked with a slight tinge of sarcasm.

"'Cuz I'm smart," he said. I could tell the entire accidental explosion event was still troubling him, but he was doing his best to try and stay positive.

"Then where are we going?" I asked.

"Out of the Clover Plains."

"Out?"

He nodded once, "Yes. Out."

"Out… where?"

"A different territory. Clover Plains has terrible diplomatic relations, so if we can get out of the territory, none of the other provinces will extradite us back. I was kind of hoping we could have made this journey a little better prepared, but-"

"Is Hargeon this way then?"

"Eh?" he sounded utterly confused. "Hargeon?"

"Yeah. Are we not taking a boat out of the port, or a train, or a-"

"Lucy, we can't use normal transportation," he stopped, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the ground. "It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous?"

"They're probably going to have our faces plastered everywhere, plus me and transportation – it's just, eugh, never mind. Anyway, the point is, our best bet is to make it to the border on foot and then cut into the mountains of the Heavensward Mountains. It's our best bet."

"The border? As in the border to the _Wasteland_!?" I shrieked.

The Wasteland was a massive expanse that was technically part of the Heavensward Mountains, but barely. It was a scorching desert with barely any wildlife. There were a few towns and villages scattered throughout it, centered around oases and watering holes. The main road that served as the bridge from the Gemstone Peaks, where most of the towns and municipalities of the Heavensward Mountains were, and Clover Plains was along the main river, which explained why most travelers took that route. Going into the Wasteland without a map, and especially without any provisions was a desperate and bold move - one that only the most desperate of fugitives would try.

"Natsu, that's suicide!" I exclaimed after a moment. "I can't go to the Wasteland!"

"And it's suicide if you go back to Hargeon!" he shouted, and it dawned on me I hadn't heard him yell until this point. "Lucy, this is our only chance."

"Well, I'm not going. I'd rather take my chances trying to hop a train or passenger sky cruiser. I mean, we have no food, we have no map, most importantly – we have no water!" I said, turning on my heel and trying to evaluate my surroundings.

He grabbed me by my arms and spun me around. "You can't go back!"

"We won't live," I sighed, dropping my head to my chin. The truth was I had no idea where I was. Could I even make it back to Hargeon if I tried?

"Hey," he clapped my shoulder. "We will."

"Why are you so invested in me anyway? Aren't I just a 'weirdo' you met in jail?" I asked, starting to grow suspicious of Natsu's intent on keeping me with him. Would it be easier for him to just cut me loose and make a break for himself? Realistically, I was probably slowing him down and he needed double the resources while I was around. Something inside me, instinct I suppose, was telling me there was more at play here.

"I can tell you're a good person, even if you're a criminal," he winked.

I considered challenging his flimsy response, but decided it would be best to play along and see what his angle is. I didn't think Natsu was necessarily an enemy, but, he definitely had an agenda. It would probably be best to be agreeable and see what it was rather than make him defensive and suspicious.

"By the way," he added. "I'm a Dragon Rider."

"Eh?" I turned my head ot the side.

"You asked how it is I can produce fire," he explained, putting his fists on his hips and lifting his chin up high. "It's because I'm Natsu Dragneel - the great Fire Dragon Rider."

Dragon Rider? Where had I heard that before? It sounded so familiar- _oh_!

"A Dragon Rider?" I exclaimed. "You're real!?"

He looked briefly offended for a moment and scoffed, "Of course I'm real. We're not in the desert yet; don't need to be worrying about mirages and all."

"No, I mean, I didn't realize," I began. "Never mind. Of course you're real. What I meant is, I just thought Dragon Riders were myths. I read about them when I was a child in this book _Tales of the First Empire_! Dragon Riders were Queen Andromeda's greatest ally in protecting the Celestial Gate. All this time, I thought they were a legend."

"Well, we're not," he said proudly, going to fold his arms and slumping his shoulders. "Besides, don't believe everything you read in that book. A lot of it is just hearsay."

I was going to ask what he was talking about but then I remembered this one part from the story of the First Empire. After Andromeda's passing, her eldest daughter Calista ruled for a great number of years, but mysteriously passed during the twentieth year of reign. Because Alexandra had pledged herself as the Guardian of the Celestial Gate, she was not eligible to inherit the throne, so the next eldest, Diana, became queen. While the Dragon Riders had been great allies to the kingdom over the years, for some reason, strife existed between them and Diana. Some years later, I think two or three years into Diana's rule, the Dragon Riders allegedly carried out an attempt on her life and thus ultimately severed the ties between the two. Diana ordered the Dragon Riders to be exterminated, as their power was great and she believed it to be a threat to the kingdom. Over the years, fewer and fewer Dragon Riders were seen, and if I remember my history correctly, the last seen were supposedly during the Dragon Civil War.

"I thought Dragon Riders were extinct, too."

"Obviously not," he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Well, as interested as I am in you and your people, I have a more immediate concern. How are we going to find this mysterious border town in the Wasteland?"

"Aha!" he turned to face me and tapped his nose. "Dragon Riders have a keen sense of smell. I am following it towards an acquaintance of mine. And they're thataway."

I looked to see where he was pointing. "What, is this a rendezvous point or something?"

"Yup!"

Something wasn't adding up.

"So wait, were you were planning on getting arrested?"

Natsu looked shocked and pursed his lips, as if he had realized he let something slip that he shouldn't have.

"No," he said hesitantly. "We just made up a rendezvous point in case we got separated."

"But if you were working in the Clover Plains and not planning on getting arrested, why didn't you have a rendezvous point inside the province?"

"Uh," Natsu scratched the side of his head then quickly said. "This is our backup rendezvous point. We had one, but if we didn't meet at the first one, then this was the second one."

"Right. Well, onwards then?"

"Roger," he gave me a mini salute.

I didn't believe him for a second.

* * *

 _Posted: 11/02/2015_

 **A/N:** I'm sorry I'm a day late posting, but it's a longer chapter than usual! The next one will be a little on the shorter side, but it looks like we're about halfway through our first arc. And what could Natsu possibly be hiding, if he's hiding anything at all? Don't forget Lucy's an unreliable narrator, but there are a lot of things at play here. Feel free to submit your guesses, theories, or speculations. Is Lucy right about Natsu being dishonest about something, or is she overly suspicious? I won't say anything that spoils the story, but I enjoy answering clarifying questions and seeing what you guys think! Hope everyone also had a good Halloween. What were your costumes? I went as Harley Quinn :)


	6. Ephemeris

**Andromeda's Gambit**

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Chapter 5: Ephemeris

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I can't recall at what moment I seemed to have slipped out of consciousness but when I came to, I definitely wasn't in the Clover Plains anymore. I was in some type of tent, and there was a frosty bite of air surrounding me. It smelled like campfire and I could hear a steady rhythm against the roof of the enclosure I was in with the occasional pop and crackle of a nearby fire.

I tried to piece together what had happened. I remembered walking with Natsu and noticing the terrain got steadily more and more desert-like in nature. Surprisingly, it was cold (though not this cold), and the bite of the wind sent a shiver all the way to my bones. I think I drilled him a bit about being a Dragon Rider, but he blatantly sidestepped and evaded questions, leaving a bitter and annoyed taste in my mouth. After that, it got fuzzy and I couldn't really remember what happened.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard voices outside the tent. I tried to sit up, much to the aggravation of my body. I was sore and besides the fact we ended up in an utterly different landscape, it was obvious I was severely fatigued. My lips were dry and cracked and my legs were burning; I also became aware of how my side screamed in pain. I noticed that my wardrobe had been changed out of what were formerly reasonable attire for the hot and arid climate of the Clover Plains into warmer and heavier clothing. I made a mental note to kick Natsu's ass for violating my privacy (honestly, did that man have no decency), but my internal memo was interrupted when the volume of the voices escalated.

"So, what? You just thought it was a great idea to pick up a girlfriend in _jail_!?" a male whom I didn't recognize groaned.

"Hey! She's not my girlfriend," Natsu protested. "She just didn't seem like she belonged there. Besides, what was I supposed to do? If I left her there, she could have been hurt."

"First of all," the other male began. "She wouldn't have been injured because if you were just escaping yourself, you wouldn't have needed to blow the place to kingdom come to get out of there. Secondly, if you hadn't been galavanting about the entire prison facility looking for that ugly fashion accessory-"

"It's clothing!"

"As I was saying, if you hadn't been frolicking about looking for that _fashion accessory,_ you would have found _it_ sooner. Thirdly-"

"Stuff it, Popsicle Princess. I would like to have seen you do better."

"Anyone could do better; Romeo could have done better and he's barely 10."

"Enough!" a woman snapped. "There's no point in arguing because she's here now, and whether we like it or not, she was dragged into this situation the moment she was arrested."

"Fine," the other male conceded. "I still think it was reckless to bring her along."

"Duly noted" the female replied. "Natsu, I do have to agree with Gray these are not favorable circumstances. It was one thing to bring her to safety but insisting we bring her along... can we trust her?"

"She's a good ally," Natsu answered.

"That's not what she was asking," the other male, whom I assumed to be Gray, said flatly.

"Are you hiding something?" the woman asked suspiciously. "I expect you to be fully honest with me regarding matters of this level of importance. We're on the same side, Natsu."

"Nope, I'm not," he said in a tone that sounded like a flat out lie to me.

Either the woman and Gray bought it, or they decided whatever Natsu knew he was not sharing because the next thing she said was, "Fine; I suppose we should talk to her and see what she knows. Her name is Lucy, right?"

"Yeah. She's kind of a weirdo but she's nice enough."

"Says you," Gray retorted.

"Watch your mouth or I'll turn you into snow-cream."

"Bring it on, Flame Brain. I'd like to see you try."

"I won't try; I'll succeed."

I heard what sounded like a loud thud and then two males whimpering.

"Shall I demonstrate that technique again, or are you two quite finished?"

"We're done!" both males affirmed.

Whoever this woman was, she was _scary_.

I saw a shadow approach the tent and I tried to tuck myself back in and pretend I was still sleeping. While I was somewhat confident they were not enemies, I couldn't be sure if they were friends yet. Natsu himself seemed harmless enough – towards me anyway, but Gray and the mysterious woman were wild cards in my book. Best to play it safe and avoid a confrontation if at all possible.

"Is she still sleeping?" I heard Natsu ask as I closed my eyes tightly and tried not to stir. "Yo, Luce! Wake up! There's bacon! No one can resist bacon, right?"

I fidgeted about to give the illusion of waking up and yawned, opening my eyes slowly and rubbing my eyes as sleepily as I could muster. I was pretty convincing, or so I thought, from the years of experience pretending to have 'accidentally' slept through my etiquette and ballroom dancing lessons.

"Our apologies in waking you, Lucy. We just wanted to make sure you were healing properly," the woman explained, crouching down closer to my level. She had a dark blue, heavy cloak and she lowered the hood to show her face. She was pretty, _really pretty_ , with long, dark red hair pulled back in a ponytail and several piercings adorning her ears. Her eyes were a warm, dark brown but they were mostly covered by her bangs.

"My name is Erza Scarlet," she continued. "Do you know where you are?"

I shook my head no, yawning again and starting to sit up. I winced at the pain, which was not pretend, and considered briefly laying back down.

"We're in the Heavensward Mountains," Erza said simply.

"What!?" I shrieked, probably giving away the fact I was well awake but I certainly didn't care. We had made it all the way _well_ into the next territory!? How the heck… how long had I been asleep?

"We're actually technically at the base of Mount Hakobe," the other male explained. "By the way, I'm Gray Fullbuster."

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked, placing a hand on my forehead and trying to determine how much time I had lost.

"Not as long as you may think," Gray answered. "Only a day or so. You sustained some pretty intense injuries; unfortunately, we're not near any medics that could treat them, so we gave you some field treatment, which should sustain you until we get to our next destination."

"How did we get through the Wasteland so quickly? Wait – next destination? Where are we going? Who are you people? What's going on?"

"We understand you have a lot of questions," Erza placed a hand on my shoulder. "And I promise we will answer them, but you need some more rest and food. We'll need you as able bodied as possible to help us when we decide to leave. Wait here with Natsu while Gray and I finish preparing breakfast."

"Try not to blow up the tent, Flame Breath," Gray glowered at Natsu.

"Why don't you come over here and say that a little closer, Ice Princess," he threatened.

"Enough!" Erza snapped, turning to give the two men a look I'd never want to be on the opposite side of.

"Yes, ma'am!"

As quickly as Erza had come in, she and Gray had disappeared and I could hear them talking faintly outside the tent, which left me with Natsu. He had a few bandages on his face and his arm appeared to be in some kind of sling but overall, he gave the illusion he sustained less injuries than me. He was looking at me with an intensity I had never experienced before and it made my heart beat quicker. It was almost primal, and yet also... _desperate_.

"So how much did you hear?" he asked, still looking at me.

"Huh?"

He gave a crooked smile and cocked his head to the side, resting his chin in his hand. "How much did you hear us talking about? I know you've been awake."

"I, uh, I mean I stirred a bit but I fell back asleep a while ago," I lied.

"You're not a real good liar, are ya, Lucy?"

"I suppose that makes two of us," I said hastily, immediately regretting the decision. _Why_ could I just not keep my trap shut?

"What makes you say that?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning towards me some. The tent was pretty cramped as is, and as he leaned in closer, I could feel the warmth radiating from his body and the smell of smoke and burnt wood permeated the small enclosure. I found myself leaning back a bit, as if to put a bit more space between us. Why was he looking at me like that? Why was he getting so close to me?

"You're hiding something," I accused.

He leaned back, though it didn't seem to be because of my discomfort by his proximity. If anything, he looked a little hurt I accused him of hiding something.

"Huh," he said simply, sidestepping my statement entirely. "You gotta trust me. I'm on your side."

"I don't know you," I mumbled. "How can I trust you?"

He nudged me in the cheek gently with his knuckles and gave a warm smile. The truth was, while my mind screamed about how I didn't know him, how our meeting was unusual, and there were a lot of unanswered questions and circumstances - I _already did_ trust Natsu. Something inside me just placed way more trust than I was honestly comfortable with and it scared the hell out of me. There was no way I'd ever tell him that, but it was almost as if he already knew.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything indecent you dirty pervert," Gray said, interrupting the silent exchange between Natsu and me, which consequently reminded me... _Slap_!

"Hey!" Natsu cried, rubbing his cheek. "What was that for!?"

"You undressed me, you little creep!" I hugged a blanket closer to my chest at the thought of Natsu looking at my undergarments. "Without permission!"

"So I could do it with permission?" he teased and I reared my hand back again before he threw his hands up and waved them. "Just kidding! Just kidding!"

Gray was chuckling before saying, "As amusing as this is, Dragon Breath didn't do it. Erza did. Which may or may not have been worse depending on how you look at it. Don't be surprised if she comes back in here with some kind of exercise regiment for you."

"She seems intense," I said, accepting the food Gray handed me. "Where is she from?"

"Erza's a Nakagami Warrior; they're an ancient order selected at birth, taken from their homes post-infancy, and raised in a secluded area in the height of the Gemstone Peaks at someplace colloquially called the 'Tower of Heaven.' She's very intense, but one of the best allies anyone could ask for, and if you ever were in a fight, she's the girl you want backing you up."

"Woman," I corrected.

He bowed his head as if to acknowledge and accept the substitution. "She's pretty amazing regardless, but you don't want to get on her bad side. And she's a real stickler for the rules; rules are everything at the Tower. It's always a big deal if someone goes 'rogue.'"

I took a bite of the bacon and had to stifle the urge to groan in happiness. It was the first taste of food I had in what felt like forever and it became extremely obvious all of a sudden that I was starving. Perhaps it was the years of etiquette classes drilled into me, but as hungry as I was, I resisted the urge to shove fistfulls of food in my mouth. When I looked up for a moment, I saw Gray's eyes studying and evaluating me.

Not going to lie, Gray was _attractive_. He had dark hair that was spiky and a little unkempt with the shape of a small scar peeking out from under his hair. He had dark, stormy eyes that most women would probably get lost in for days paired high cheekbones and a lean frame. His facial expression was completely unreadable and his lips were pressed in a line; for God's sakes, just where did these people come from? Was there something in the water near their homes? I thought I was attractive but _geez_. It's like this trio came from some far off land where everyone was at least an 8.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 and probably belonged in a magazine.

"Where are you from, Lucy?" Gray finally asked, crossing his arms.

"A-around," I replied. "My family and I moved around a lot, so I can't really say I'm from anywhere in particular, but I've lived mostly in the Clover Plains."

I quickly shoved a giant piece of bread in my mouth, hoping he wouldn't ask anymore questions. To my relief, Erza entered the tent and sat down near me. Unfortunately, any relief was short-lived because she then produced my holosphere and looked at me sternly.

"I think we should talk about what you found now, Lucy."

I swallowed hard, and my eyes teared up from the large chunk of bread passing through my throat.

"Where in Fiore did you find this?"

I looked from her to Gray to Natsu, who gave me a reassuring nod.

"Some scavenger outpost. I think he said it came from the Wasteland but I don't know for sure. I figure it's probably garbage but I thought if I could get my friend to restore it, I could sell it for some money," I admitted.

"It's not garbage; it's far from it," Gray said.

"It's something we've been looking for this for over three hundred years," Erza said.

"Three hundred years?" I balked.

"Well, not us personally, but us - as an organization," Gray clarified.

I put my fingertips on my forehead as I tried to process the information. "I beg your pardon?"

"Lucy," Natsu said, and I looked up to meet his smoky eyes. "This is a map that was created by Princess Alexandra herself."

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 _Posted: 11/07/2015_

 **A/N:** And now we've introduced more of the gang. This chapter was a bit slower and more... plot serving than the others. Don't worry, there's more to be explained in the next chapter. But where does Lucy fit into all of this? You'll have to read to find out! As for one of the questions, nice pick up on the fact all the chapter titles are named after astronomical/cosmological terminology! They are, in fact! However, as for concern for running out of terminology before the story ends... you'll just have to see. ;)

For now, here's the title to chapter 6: Event Horizon. PS - did anyone else see the trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda for N7 day yesterday? :'( gonna miss my space wife Femshep but I'm looking forward to the new game!


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